Hi, I would like to make white gold alloyed with silver. Does anyone
have an idea if this alloy works? Is the result brittle or not? What
is the proportion of silver / gold to be used for 18K and for 14K
white gold / silver? Thank you very much for your help,
CAMILA
Camila’s question is very close to one I’ve been wanting to ask, so
maybe those of you who answer might cover this, too: I would like to
make white gold which is 50/50 gold and silver. I have some white 12K
gold leaf which is this alloy and the color is gorgeous - a golden
white about the color of a full moon when it’s been up for about 2
hours. I don’t want to make “traditional jewelry” with this alloy, but
want to cold-connect small pieces of sheet to other metals, do some
married metals, etc. Would this be a soft alloy, easy to roll, etc.?
Anything else I should know? Thanks very much.
Rene Roberts
Rene ,
50-50 gold silver is called electrum and is one of the natural states
that gold and silver are found in. The color is pale yellow I would
not call it white. Its melting point is slightly above that of fine
silver and it is very soft.
Jim
@jbin
James Binnion Metal Arts
4701 San Leandro St #18
Oakland, CA 94601
510-436-3552
Hi Camila, Silver by itself will not be strong enough to whiten gold.
With silver alone you will get an interesting “greenish” color,
really rather pale yellow in the 14k configuration. Commonly nickel is
used to whiten gold. You can buy this alloy already prepared with all
the right properties to add to your fine gold. Nickel can
significantly harden gold in the 14k mode and more so in 18k. If you
want to get away from nickel totally, a paladium alloy will probably
be your best choice. I buy 18k paladium white gold already alloyed.
This stuff is a dream to set stones in. I find it easier the 18k
yellow. I hope this is some help. Bye, John…J.A. Henkel Co. Inc.
Moldmaking Casting & Finishing <:0
If all you use is silver mixed with the gold, you won’t get a white
gold. A 14K gold, with 58 percent gold and the rest silver, you’ll
have a nice pale gold alloy, often called “green gold”, though not as
"greenish" as you get if you also add some zinc to it. but it won’t
be white. It’s very soft and malleable, almost like pure silver. The
18K version, 75% gold and 25% silver, is also a bright lemon yellow,
not white, and is also very soft and malleable. Nice alloy, actually.
But not white. You CAN add silver to a more traditional white gold
alloy, those made with either palladium or nickle as the whitening
alloy. since nickle and palladium are both powerful whitening agents
in these alloys, the silver does not affect the color any more. The
result in terms of brittleness depends on the exact composition of the
alloy. Sometimes adding silver makes some white gold alloys more
brittle, sometimes it makes them softer. You CAN make a white alloy
with just silver and gold, but it takes so much silver than the result
is no longer a higher karat content of gold, but rather an alloy of
silver with some gold. If I remember it right, from When I tried it,
it takes about 60 percent silver before you get close to a white
color. Now that means that a 10K alloy of 43 percent gold and the
rest silver, will be pretty close to white. But still not as white as
our normal white golds…
Peter Rowe
Not sure what you would get as far as brittleness, etc., but one of
the main ingredients in the formula for green gold is silver.
According to my reference materials,
75% Au + 25% Pd = 18KW
75% Au + 25% Ag = 18K Green
58% Au + 25% Ag + 17% Cu = 14KY
58% Au + 42% Pd = 14KW
58% Au + 35% Ag + 7% Cu = 14K Green
Au = gold, Ag = silver, Cu = copper, Pd = palladium
I’m sure the above formulas are purely basic formulas not allowing
for other ingredients in alloy “recipes”, but you should get the
idea.
Rene, I developed the 50/50 alloy many years ago for my own
use…probably 26 or 27…because I wanted to granulate gold and
silver and it was possible but very difficult to get a consistent
acceptable result. It occurred to me that if the melting point of
the silver could be raised by adding gold…alloys of gold and
silver have melting points that are directly related to the amounts
of each metal used in the alloy…the granulating process would be
easier. It worked and I have used it in many of my pieces, as many
of my students have as well. It is very beautiful…I love your
description!..a warm white, different than silver. Also, it does
not tarnish! It is a very soft alloy and needs bracing of some kind.
It is easy to roll and polish but I think it is most attractive
with a matt finish. I hope this helps.
Jean Stark
Hi Jean, What do you mark this 50/50 gold and silver alloy . Thank you.
Judith
Hi Judith! 50/50 has 50% of 24k so it is marked 12k. It is
actually an electrum alloy - only pure gold and pure silver,
whatever the percentage of each - but I am not aware of any way to
mark that. Jean